Trump Proposes Ending Asylum For Illegal Immigrants

As was widely expected following his promises to stop crowds of illegal migrants from entering the US, President Trump on Thursday signed an order to end asylum for illegal immigrants before the caravans arrive. The order, which is expected to elicit howls of outrage from the left, will almost certainly be met with a court challenge, according to a Bloomberg report.

The Trump administration said it would prohibit people who illegally cross the U.S. border with Mexico from claiming asylum, as the president seeks to choke off migration from Latin America, Bloomberg News reports.

The change to asylum procedures was published Thursday by the Justice Department. President Donald Trump has blamed U.S. asylum rules for luring thousands of migrants a year from Central American countries. The new rule is almost certain to be challenged in courts.

According to an NBC News report published early Thursday afternoon, senior Trump administration officials expect to be sued over the "draconian" immigration order. But with Brett Kavanaugh cementing a conservative majority on the court, the administration expects that it will prevail, as even the pre-Kavanaugh split court allowed the administration some wiggle room to implement its controversial travel ban. However, some worry that Neil Gorsuch could throw a wrench in the works by opposing the proposal, as he appeared to have reservations about supporting another restrictive immigration ruling during arguments on another case earlier in the term, per the New York Times.

Trump is expected to issue a proclamation putting the new rules into effect as soon as Friday. According to its terms, migrants will be required to make asylum claims at official points of entry where "they would be processed in a controlled, orderly, and lawful manner," according to the rule.

"Our asylum system is overwhelmed with too many meritless asylum claims from aliens who place a tremendous burden on our resources, preventing us from being able to expeditiously grant asylum to those who truly deserve it," Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said in a joint statement.

In the days and weeks before Tuesday's midterm, Trump ordered thousands of additional troops to the US-Mexico border to offer "support" for border patrol agents and another wave of national guard troops who had been dispatched to the border earlier in the year. And now some are speculating that Trump might force a government shutdown next month over funding for his border wall.